USA Youth Rugby

Try on Rugby

Promoting girls’ and women’s involvement in rugby around the United States.

What is Try on Rugby?

A USA Rugby initiative dedicated to growing the number of girls and women in rugby. Try on Rugby has educational and promotional materials for introducing rugby into schools with the goal of starting sustainable girls’ programs. In support of these programs, Try on Rugby encourages women to try on coaching, refereeing, and administrating.

How Does Try on Rugby Work?

Try on Rugby has multiple components for getting young girls and women involved.

Try on Rugby Participation Program – The Try on Rugby Participation Program offers curriculum and starter materials to introduce the sport of rugby to young girls. The curriculum is easily implemented in girls programs or within a rugby club.

Try on Rugby for Adults – Women have the opportunity to get involved in rugby at any age. Try on Rugby supports pathways to coaching, refereeing, and administrating though educational materials and specific courses for women.

Participation

Introducing Girls to Rugby

School and Community Outreach

Rugby provides young girls with a life-changing experience, is easy to implement and guaranteed to get girls up and moving! Try on Rugby has start-up materials and an extensive curriculum focused on three key components:

Introductory Programs for Rugby Clubs

Growing Girls’ Rugby is a great resource for taking your participation program to the next level. This great guide has program schedules, equipment and budget requirements, and marketing tools to get your girls’ Try on Rugby league started!

Rugby Skills

Introduce the basic skills of flag rugby through fun games and structured practices. Each week’s practice builds upon the skills learned the week before and culminates with a flag rugby competition.

Fitness and Active Nutrition

With the growing obesity rates in the United States, educating young girls on healthy eating and exercising habits is crucial. Six, thirty minute lesson plans and corresponding worksheets introduce these topics.

Week 1 – Start Moving and Get Fit!

Week 2 – My Rugby Fitness Test

Week 3 – Understanding Active Nutrition

Week 4 – Athletes and Nutrition

Week 5 – Food Labels

Week 6 – Calories In vs. Calories Out

Life Skills

Growing up is not an easy thing, especially as a young girl. Young girls face many societal pressures which can lead to bigger problems emotionally, mentally, and physically as adults. The Try on Rugby curriculum features six, thirty minutes lessons that addresses major issues facing young girls.

Week 1 – Confidence and Self-Esteem

Week 2 – Body Image

Week 3 – Diversity and Respect

Week 4 – Bullying

Week 5 – Leadership

Week 6 – Understanding Identities

TOR Adults

Rugby needs you to get involved in coaching, refereeing, and administrating rugby in your community. These roles are both incredibly rewarding and ways to make a real difference.

Try on Coaching

As girls’ rugby grows, so does the need for more coaches, especially female role models. Rugby players have a great base knowledge of the game, enabling them to be in a perfect position to coach. Check out how you can get involved today!

Coach a Rookie Rugby Team (Non-contact, flag rugby) – Try on Rugby incorporates non-contact, flag rugby into its curriculum. Rookie Rugby is a great entry point to coaching and it is a fun way for kids to try the sport at a young age. Rookie Rugby is easy to coach and you can start by downloading more information at RookieRugby.com. Check with your local state representative for available Rookie Rugby Instructor courses that you can attend.

Coach a Youth Team – Youth contact rugby is growing at rapid rates across the country. USA Rugby has a ton of great resources and a Level 100 Coaching Certification that prepares anyone for introducing the basics of the game. Check out USARugby.org/coaching for more information. Contact your local state rep to get started: USARugby.org/sro.

Coach a High School Team – For high school girls, seven-a-side rugby is growing in leaps and bounds. This is a great opportunity to introduce the game to our future Olympians. Check out USARugby.org/coaching for more information on the Level 200 Coaching Certification. Contact your local state rep to get started.

Try on Refereeing

Officiating is integral to growing the game. Rugby refereeing is different than many other officiating systems, as rugby refs work to maintain the continuity and safety of the game, instead of merely policing infractions. It is a challenging and rewarding opportunity that you can get involved with today, not to mention getting paid to do it!

Steps to Refereeing

Contact Your State Representative – If you are interested in refereeing in your community, start by contacting your local state representative. USARugby.org/sro

Take a Referee Course – USA Rugby offers multiple opportunities to get trained as a referee. Start with this introductory course; visit USARugby.org/referee for more information and to find courses in your area:

Level 1 – Intro to Officiating: This course is designed to teach the basics of rugby officiating and prepare anyone to step on to the field with a whistle.

Try on Rugby Referee Development Program

Try on Rugby and USA Rugby Referees are excited to announce a new initiative to find our next generation of female referees: The Try on Rugby Referee Development Program

Local Referee Organizations will run Level 1 Referee Certification Courses for area women. Course registration will be offered at a discounted cost to the participants with a commitment to refereeing locally after completion on the course.

What’s included?

The Level 1 course helps make participants comfortable with rugby refereeing.
It is a one-day certification covering:

Try on Administrating

Another great way to try on rugby is by becoming a rugby administrator. Getting involved behind the scenes to create new programs, help with running leagues, and setting up events are just a few things that grow this game we all love.

Steps to Administrating

What’s Your Passion? – Rugby administrating encompasses a lot of different skill sets. Figure out what you love to do or what you are interested in doing to set your niche. Some examples include:

PLEASE NOTE

The Digital Platform Department cannot respond to enquiries regarding the above platforms as each are managed by a different USA Rugby department.

If you are having issues with one of the following USA Rugby websites -- USARugby.org (main website only), D1ARugby.com, D1ARugby.tv, RookieRugby.com, PlayRugbyToday.com, TryOnRugby.com, USACollege7s.com -- please contact David Jacobson or Aaron Ewerdt.